Meet Again
by Delfy17
Summary: "For the sake of your world's future... as well as your own and those you love... you must remember..." With the loss of his memories made in Tokyo, Ren finds himself on a Path of Ruin. The only way to avoid this course, was to try and recollect all of the memories he had made. To fulfill a promise, and meet with his friends once again.
1. Remember

Chapter 1

 **Remember**

* * *

 _ **11/?/20XX**_

A young man sighed in a cafe, trying to distract himself and brew some coffee to pass the time. He recalled his first few days on the job, trying to make some food and refreshments, and he realized that he had gotten much better at it since first arriving at Leblanc. It was somewhat of a soothing hobby that developed thanks to the cafe and it's owner. Despite this though, the adolescent couldn't keep his thoughts in check. His group had well under a week left to pull off their gambit. It wasn't necessarily too difficult to accomplish, however, Sae had already trusted him. Would it be detrimental to the plan? For all he knew, having her see him in custody might just make it harder to regain her trust. Whatever the case, the boy decided that it'd be best not to dwell on it too much. He had an important goal: Ensure that Sae can have a change of heart without stealing the treasure, and make sure that she was able to take his phone and show it to the traitor. Nothing too difficult, but not something that easy either. The most difficult part was all the planning and research done to reduce risks. The group had spent hours and hours planning this out. Ren thought about all the planning that went into developing the plan. Two members of the group had spent much time and effort into reducing all risks, Futaba and Makoto. He couldn't imagine how much work those two put in compared to the rest of them.

A notification went off from his phone. _Speak of the devil..._

Futaba: Rennnnnnn :o

Mona and I are hungryyyyyy :(((

Buy us snacks pls!

Ren: There's a grocery store like a few steps outside your house.

Futaba: But you're like 25 steps closer so its fair ;)

Mona asked for tuna btw

He shook his head and silenced his phone to stop her from bothering him. The phone rang loudly even though the settings had just been changed. Futaba's hacker skills impressed him every time, even if it did annoy him. He continued ignoring the messages and hoped that she would just stop. His phone stopped ringing eventually, but the big old fashioned yellow telephone in the front of Leblanc began to go off instead. 5 minutes of ringing later, and the ringing stops once more, exactly as he had predicted. He began to think of what to do if she decides to call once more. _I could always just disconnect the telephone line from that yellow phone over there. As for mine, there's always just removing the SIM card... nah. She already did something to it so even if I did that, it probably wouldn't do anything to stop her._ He thought to himself.

A bell rang from the entrance of the cafe. _"Did Sojiro forget to flip the sign?"_ He started to think.

"Oh, sorry to intrude. The cafe isn't closed right? The sign outside says that it's still open." A voice said as it came from the cafe's entrance. Makoto slowly entered with a smile as she flipped over the sign behind her. She was wearing a black turtleneck sweater with a teal blue coat, along with her signature braided headband.

Ren smiled upon seeing her enter. "Boss really is getting old. He can't even remember to flip the sign anymore." He said with a chuckle. "Come on in. Coffee's nearly ready."

"Thank you, Ren." She calmly walked towards a booth in front of where he was making the drinks and sat down. "Did Boss make you work all day today?"

"Yeah, pretty much. It was a pain, but he did promise to give me the shop to myself a bit earlier, so I'd say it was worth it." He said. The entirety of the day was taking orders left and right from his boss.

"I see. I was wondering if I might've arrived too early." She said.

"I'd say your timing was perfect." Ren replied.

Makoto looked at Ren with a confused look "You think so?" She said, staring at his apron. "It looks like you're still setting everything up."

"Oh... I honestly forgot I was still wearing this thing." Ren laughed.

Makoto giggled at him.

"Huh? What are you laughing at? You're telling me you don't like my attire? 'Cause I'm rocking this thing!" He said as he twirled around and showed it off.

"Perhaps you should wear it when we go to Dome Town." Makoto continued laughing. It had been a while since the two had been with one another just being themselves. The fun little banter the couple had was something she missed. Still, it seemed like something was off here. She began to look around the cafe for something.

Ren stopped laughing and looked at Makoto with intrigue. "Huh? Is there something wrong?" He asked.

"No, nothing's wrong. It's just strangely quiet. Is Morgana not here?" Makoto asked curiously. It was strange not seeing the cat roam around and try taunting the two. Leblanc was the cat's home too after all.

"Nope. He and Futaba said they were gonna go watch a movie airing tonight. Would you have preferred them to be here? I could call them over if you'd like." Ren said, trying to bait her for a response.

"N-no, this is fine!" Makoto said out loud. She noticed her tone of voice and looked away in embarrassment. "I mean, I have nothing against the two, but what I'm trying to say is um... I'm glad that it's just the two of us." She said as she smiled towards him, showing a light blush.

Ren smiled once more. "I'm glad too. It's been a while since our last date." He said as he sat down next to her with two cups of coffee.

"With the situation we're in, it's nearly impossible." Makoto frowned.

"Yeah, we've been so busy with the palace and keeping the traitor at bay that we haven't had any time to just relax." He said, taking a sip from his drink.

"Trying to relax even now is difficult. I keep on thinking and thinking about it all the time. He always acted so high and mighty about what justice really is, but all of that was a load of nonsense. He... was planning on killing you." Makoto said, a slight tone of anger in her voice. The traitor's plan had disgusted her. They had set their group up to purposefully increase their popularity, then while at the top, blame the Thieves for the death of the CEO of Okumura foods. The traitor then had to work with them to "redeem" the group. It was all done to kill Ren, and everyone else.

"That's not gonna happen though." Ren said confidently. "We've got our plan ready to show him what justice truly is."

Makoto showed a light smile. "Yes, you're right. We'll show that ass what the Phantom Thieves are truly capable of." She said enthusiastically.

"Woah, I didn't know the Student Council President had such vulgar vocabulary." He replied back with a playful tone.

Makoto glanced at him. "Considering what he was planning to do, I think he deserves to be called much, much worse."

"You could say that again." Ren said with a grin.

Makoto looked at the boy, thinking about the risks that their plan had. "But still, just... make sure you succeed. I know we went over this before, but I want you to stay safe."

"I know. I'll be doing my best to pull this off. The last thing I want is to leave you and the group behind. There's too much unfinished business left for me to take care of. It'll be alright, okay?"

She was worried for him. Everybody in the group was. There were two major jobs to accomplish in order to succeed. One was to be able to fool the traitor for long enough in order to make sure that he doesn't suspect our plan. From what they could tell, he didn't suspect a thing. The second was completely out of the group's control. Makoto's sister, Sae, was going to be in charge of the interrogation. If she could not be convinced that the Phantom Thieves were in the right, then the odds of her helping him escape the interrogation room dropped to a near 0%. But if he could convince her, then it would be smooth sailing from there. No, there was no IF. Ren knew that he was definitely going to convince her.

"Right, I'm sorry for bringing that up. It's just been on my mind ever since."

"It's fine, it's been on my mind too. Truth be told, I'm actually kind of nervous." Ren said with a weak laugh. "But that doesn't mean that I'll fail. I promise you, the day after the heist, you'll see me and Sae-san walking into Leblanc with smiles." He said, his eyes flaming with determination.

Makoto smiled upon seeing him and hearing his claim. "I can tell you mean it, so I'll be counting on you to keep your promise, alright?"

"You've got it."

A bit of silence followed, but she then bashfully looked towards the ground. "Hey, mind if you close your eyes for a bit?"

Ren gave her a confused glance, but complied anyways. The silence in the air remained, and he awaited for something to happen. Makoto looked at him nervously. She wasn't used to taking the initiative, but she was determined to get her feelings across to him. She calmed down, and leaned in towards the boy in front of her. The feeling of their lips softly touching. She hadn't gotten used to the feeling at all, but there was always something mystifying about it. Ren's face slowly got warmer and he opened his eyes. She backed off after just a small peck, and showed him a genuine smile. "Hmm? Seems that even you're vulnerable to getting flustered." She said with a grin.

"You did some research, didn't you?" Ren said with a cheeky smile.

"I took some advice from a friend, yes but... I simply thought it'd be best for me to take the lead more often." She said as she happily leaned on his shoulder. He placed his arm around her and embraced the moment. The entirety of the month had been so stressful with very little time for the two to be with one another. Even when they were together, it was usually just Phantom Thief business. Not only that, but with the traitor joining, any trace of their relationship had to be hidden. The last thing the group needed was for him to find out and take advantage of it.

Regardless, all he knew was that there wasn't any way he could die. Not after what he had been through with everybody. He had to live for their sake. For hers. "I love you, Makoto."

Makoto felt glad. They had very little time to relax, but whenever they did have the time, she cherished every moment. She had to do her best to ensure Ren's safety. For their group's leader. Her lover. "I love you too, Ren."

Ren began to close his eyes as the two continued to lean on one another. A sudden headache began to develop. The feeling of falling is all that can be felt. He tried to open his eyes back open again, but it wasn't any use. Eventually however, his eyes did open, but it's just darkness. Eyes open or not, it was no different. A desperate cry for help was made to the person he was talking to... who was he talking to? His head ached badly and everything that had just happened a few minutes ago, felt like it never did.

* * *

 **?/?/20XX**

A criminal awakened in a dark room. He tried to recall what had happened the day before, but simply couldn't. It was hard enough for him to just keep his eyes open. He felt pain all around his body and face, but for what reason? A few seconds later, he felt a sensation of water hit him. He started to choke and cough from the sudden lack of air. A headache struck him. He could barely recall what had happened just a few hours ago.

"It's time to wake up." A guard said as he stared at the teen menacingly.

The delinquent stared back and remembered vaguely that he was same guard that gave him all these bruises. He struggled to reply back, but nothing but a whisper came out. "Go... to hell."

The guard continued staring and said nothing, but suddenly lunged at him, aiming his hand at his throat. "Listen you piece of shit. You've got an interrogation going on in 5 minutes. I advise you to keep quiet before I make sure that nothing comes out of that mouth for the rest of your life."

Fear followed the teen's eyes. A quick flash of memories entered through his mind as he remembered the abuse he had just suffered a few hours ago. They'd just finished beating him to near death and they didn't care if anything life threatening happened to him whatsoever. More thoughts continued to overflow within his mind once more. _What the hell did I do to warrant me this much abuse?_ The guard then pushed him backward as the teen began to cough and gasp for air once more.

The kid tried to remember anything of how he had gotten there, but only a very vague recollection of what occurred appeared in his head. _I was trying to rob a casino? I ended up getting ambushed by a bunch of police officers in my getaway. And I was dragged in here while I was unconscious. Who else was there with me?_ He remembered a few voices on a radio giving him instructions on where to go and what to do, but no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't figure out who the voices belonged to. Along with this, there was one thing that gravely bothered the criminal. An officer at the arrest had made a remark, saying that his group had been sold out. _Sold out..._

The door in front of him caught his interest. Voices could be heard from outside and he began to wonder if the people outside were here for the interrogation the guard was talking about. Before the guard left, he took one good glance at the teen. "Try talking yourself out of this one, Phantom Thief."

The delinquent remained quiet, and he tried to recall what he had meant by that. _A Phantom Thief?_ He tried to remember if that rang any bells, but there was nothing. Nothing made any sense to him. The door in front began to open as a bright light from outside shined in. He began to look around the room once more and it's as was expected. _It's an interrogation room alright._

"Good luck, Ms. Niijima." A voice said from outside the door.

 _Niijima..._

The boy looked in front of himself and noticed a woman in a suit walking towards him. He looked at her face and saw a stare of disapproval directly aimed right at him. The door behind closed, and she sat down in a chair with a table separating the two. She sighed. "I was hoping that it wouldn't be you behind this. I wanted to believe that somebody else was truly responsible for these actions and that I was wrong. Sadly, it seems that I was right all along."

He couldn't do much but stare at her with a tired expression. No response able to form itself from him.

"Not only that, but they tried to force the truth out of you as well." The women said as she noticed all the bruises on his face. She began to look around the room and noticed something. Multiple syringes scattered across the floor.

"Those damned monst-"

Suddenly, the teen's headache grew even worse. He could no longer keep his eyelids open, and everything surrounding him became black. He was barely keeping his head from slamming onto the table with his arm, but the longer he held onto his head, the more exhausted he became.

The woman quickly caught on to what was happening to him. "Hey, stay awake! Don't you dare pass out!" She said as she tried to keep him conscious.

The teen's eyes were closed and he started to pass out, but suddenly, the darkness he was in had a small ray of hope within it. A completely dark room with a shining bright blue butterfly flying upwards. A voice began to speak to the boy.

 _"...You are held captive. A prisoner of fate to a future that has been sealed in advance. This is truly an unjust game..."_

He continued looking at the bright blue butterfly flying upwards. There was no reason for it, but it felt strangely familiar to him.

 _"Your chances of winning are almost none. But if my voice is reaching you, there may yet be a possibility open to you.. I beg you. Please overcome this game... and save the world..."_

The teen continued to look at the butterfly as it flew across the room. It didn't really make any sense, but it all felt eerily familiar. _A game to save the world..._

 _"The key to victory lies within the memories of your bonds—the truth that you and your friends grasped. It all began that day... when the game was started half a year ago... For the sake of your world's future... as well as your own and those you love... you must remember..."_

 _Remember... Right._ The butterfly above continued on heading upwards until it was no longer visible. The dark void that he was just in, faded away and the interrogation room was once again in his sight.

For some reason, the teen noticed that he was feeling less tired than before. That wasn't saying too much though, considering that his body still ached real bad and his mind was still very fuzzy, but there was some hope. The void he was in, and the voice he had just listened to had both seemed too familiar for him to simply forget.

"Oh good. You're still conscious." The woman said in relief, unaware of what had just happened to him. "Alright, listen to me. My time here is getting cut short. Not only that, but the method of how you were able to perform the 'change of hearts' still doesn't make any sense. This applies to the mental shutdowns too. If you want a decent chance of not facing a life sentence, then I need you to answer my questions truthfully."

He continued to stare at her. "I'll... try. Memory isn't very clear."

"What can you recall?" She asked impatiently.

"My arrest at the casino. But its still just a blur." He responded.

"Are you certain that the location you were in was an actual casino?" She continued to question.

The teen tried to think, and quickly recalled many oddities. Like the fact that there wasn't a casino that big in Tokyo and the strange shadow looking figures he had seen within the area. "N-no. Not really." He said in confusion. _There's something here that I can't recall..._

"Those drugs couldn't have made things even worse." The woman said angrily.

He couldn't agree more. The incident in the casino had just happened hours ago, yet he couldn't recall a single thing that occurred there.

She sighed. "Do you remember any of your teammates or others that assisted you?"

"Teammates? I don't remember there being other people." He said. He suddenly remembered the voices on the radio. The voices that were giving him orders on where to go. "No wait, there was." _The casino definitely had much more going for it._

"Do you remember who they were?!" She yelled out.

"N-no sorry. I can't really remember anything too clearly." He said, disappointed in himself.

She shook her head in disbelief, but continued on. "Think carefully. I'm going to read the names of the people that your group had targeted. Kunizaku Okumura, the hacker group Medjed, Junya Kaneshiro, Ichiryusai Madarame, Suguru Kamoshida and recently, Sae Niijima."

 _Niijima... something about that last name... As if it was somebody that I had known. There was something really important that I had forgotten._

"None of these names bring up any memories?"

He shook his head. There was much familiarity to everything he was being told, but it still didn't make sense.

"So this means you don't even know who I am." She sighed once more. A binder filled with documents was brought out from her briefcase. "Let's start from the beginning then. Your name is Ren Amamiya. You injured a man back in your hometown and later you were charged with assault. Your parents were essentially given one choice by the court, and that was to send you to Tokyo in order for you to 'rehabilitate' and continue your education at Shujin Academy. You were to live with your probation officer, Sojiro Sakura at Yongen-Jaya. You managed to go a few days of a normal life until somehow, you had gotten into trouble with Kamoshida. You and your group had managed to threaten Kamoshida to the point of him confessing his crimes. Is that what happened?"

Ren took one good look at her. The fog in his mind was slowly clearing up. "There's more to this." He managed to say.

"More? Are you remembering?" She said, surprised.

The kid nodded. Slowly but surely, the memories he had were returning to him. The life he had back then was slowly becoming more and more clear. The day he had arrived to Tokyo. Nothing but strange things one after another had happened. Most people would've wished that this had never happened to them, but Ren had no regrets.

Suguru Kamoshida... A disgusting demon hiding within a human's body. He physically and sexually abused students, blackmailed those that opposed him, and ruined the futures of his own students for his own pleasure.

 _Ryuji... Ann... Mishima... Shiho..._

* * *

 **A/N: So here I am. To those from the P5 fanbase, sup. I really just write for fun but I try to improve as much as I can too, so if something could be improved, review! The few people from the Fire Emblem side, this is what I've been working on. I just finished a 100% playthrough of P5 and man was it a amazing game. First playthrough made me SO close to tearing up at the credits but you know what, there's always PQ2 and Persona 5 Arena (ArcSys pls)**

 **Why Makoto you ask? Before I chose Makoto, I was planning to pick Futaba or Haru but I thought it'd be great if I got together with the interrogator's sister. I was seriously hoping to get some sort of reaction in the interrogation room, but there was nothing. It did show me the way to best girl though. (We all have different opinions please don't crucify me)**

 **Anyways update schedule may vary, hopefully bi-weekly but it may take longer or if I'm really feeling it, less. Enough ranting though, go follow, favorite and review blahblah you know the deal. Til next chapter, have a good one!**

 **Edit: Fixed issues with grammar and past-present tense.**


	2. When it all Began

Chapter 2

 **When It All Began**

* * *

 _ **04/09/20XX**_

Tokyo... For the longest time, the teen had lived in a suburban area where nothing too significant happened. The fact that he was headed to live in Tokyo was still shocking. However, remembering the real reason as to why he was in the city had brought down his spirits. A false charge. Everyone he had known back home had resented him for what he did. A violent assault on an innocent man. That's what the court said that he had done. All simply because he wanted to stop a man from trying to hurt a woman. He tried his best to help someone out in their time of need and now, he was the one getting punished. _Dammit... I really messed with the worst guy possible._

A few girls next to him began gossiping about a strange case going on in the city. From what he could hear from the conversation, there were mental shutdowns that had been going on for a while in the area, but for all he knew, it was just a load of nonsense. Authorities haven't pinpointed any suspects or causes so based on all they knew, the mental shutdowns would just occur at random. The two girls looked at him in confusion and the boy noticed that he was staring at them the entire time... He turned away and the two started whispering to each other instead. _What a fun way to start off the day..._

The boy got off at his destination, Shibuya. From here, he had to make a transfer to a different train in order to get to Yongen-Jaya. He exited the train, and went upstairs towards the surface, and even though he had seen pictures, he didn't expect it to be this packed. A sea of people walking everywhere to different directions. Everybody had somewhere to go, especially somewhere as busy as the one of the most active areas in Tokyo. There were buildings in every direction with many of those buildings having both regular and electronic billboards advertising a multitude of products. The train he needed to transfer to Yongen-Jaya wasn't far from his position, but he continued staring at the sight in front of him. It was just so surreal to see this many people coexisting with one another.

He moved onward and took out his phone to make sure that he was headed towards the right train station. Unexpectedly, an app appeared on the phone. It completely covered the screen and he did his best to try and get it off. It was a navigation app of some sort from what he could tell with a strange ominous red eye as it's logo. He curiously tapped on it and all of a sudden, he began to feel very light. He looked around himself and realized that time was slowing down and eventually, it just stopped. _This doesn't make any sense._ He looked right in front of himself. Below the Shibuya 109 building, a burst of blue flames had appeared out of nowhere. He covered his eyes from the extreme brightness and the fire slowly dimmed down. From those fiery flames, a figure was formed. A demonic-looking creature burned along with blue flames and stared right at him with what appeared to be a smile.

He quickly blinked, and time resumed once more. The teen frantically tried looking around to try and see if anybody had just seen what had just occurred, but no luck. _Guess I'm just real tired._ He shook his head and tried to pretend that it was just his imagination. He quickly managed to find the train that he was looking for, and finally found himself on a path to Yongen-Jaya.

* * *

A small little neighborhood is where his new home was located in. After getting completely overwhelmed by the massive buildings, the small houses and businesses around the area finally gave the adolescent a sense of familiarity. He began to search around for the place where his probation officer was at. Sojiro Sakura was his name. _I'm surprised that he even took me in. Nobody had even bothered with me, even family members. But for some reason this guy did. I'll have to thank him for sure._

After a while of searching and asking random strangers, he eventually figured out that he was supposed to be at a cafe named "Leblanc." It was a fairly small business from what he could tell, and it was very old fashioned too. The location of the cafe was in an alley of an already quiet neighborhood. The teen thought about the area and wondered if it was a risky business decision to have a cafe somewhere so secluded, but he simply shook his head and continued onward.

He entered the cafe and saw an elderly couple having a conversation and drinking their coffee in a booth near the back. The teen looked towards his right and noticed a fairly old looking man reading from a newspaper.

"These mental shutdown cases have been real scary lately, huh boss?." The old lady said as she tried initiating a conversation.

"Not interested." The man behind the counter replied back.

"Well, I guess it doesn't concern you much, with Leblanc being in an alley and all, but still it wouldn't help to be cautious when going out. So many accidents happen with people who lose it behind the wheel." The old lady continued.

The cafe owner stayed silent. He looked at the boy. "Hey kid, you got some business here or are you gonna order something?"

"Oh um, do you know Sojiro Sakura?" The teen said meekly.

"That's me. Why is that important?" The man questioned.

The person in front of him was his probation officer. He readied himself to try and give a good first impression. "My name is Ren Amamiya, the delinquent you decided to take in. Please take care of me." He said as he bowed down to him.

The man stared in silence and then sighed. "Jeez I completely forgot. Is it seriously today?"

"Yes. I'm sorry, I should've called you earli-"

"Don't worry about that. If I was gonna do this then I should've at least remembered the date. I don't need you calling either. Don't want a guys number on my phone." He said with a smirk. "C'mon, I'll take you to your room."

"Guess we'll be on our way out too. Thanks for the coffee, Boss." The old man said as he started to leave with the old lady.

The probation officer shook his head and sighed. "Four hours for just a single cup of joe." He said under his breath.

Ren followed him as he was led upstairs to the room he spoke about. He began to wonder how much space the place had. He had a fairly big room back home, but considering the position he was in, he didn't mind anything smaller at all. That is, until he realized that the room he was talking about was actually just the attic.

The attic was a complete mess with dust seen at every corner and a few cobwebs sprinkled out as well. There were shelves and multiple boxes laid out everywhere, books scattered across the ground, and something that looked like a dead plant. _I doubt anyone's even been here all year. Hell, maybe even all decade._

"What, are you not a fan?" The man said. "You're not gonna get things handed to you here kid. I've got some cleaning supplies here, so feel free to use them."

"Right. Thank you once more, Sakura-san." Ren replied back.

"Just call me boss. I'll come back and check in on you in a bit." He said as he went back downstairs.

The teen took a good look at the area around, and closed his eyes. _It could be worse._

* * *

A few hours later of cleaning and there was a great amount of progress done to the attic. The place was still messy, but compared to how it looked like a few hours ago, it was a sight to behold. Ren had managed to clean up a majority of the dust and organized the place to feel like an actual room. From what he could tell, a few more hours to rearrange shelves and sort some of the boxes, and the place would look very respectable, at least for what it was.

Sojiro came back up the stairs. "You actually decided to go on and clean up the place huh? I'm surprised." He then looked around the area.

"There's still a little bit left to clean out, but I think it's going well." Ren replied back.

"Uh huh. Anyways, I'm headed home. Whenever I close up shop, I want you to make sure to lock up and check if the sign is flipped over properly. Don't want anybody trying to come in when the place is closed."

"Right, I'll make sure to do that Sakura-sa-"

"Boss." He said with a serious expression.

"S-sorry. I'll make sure to lock up the cafe for you, Boss." The boy said with a stutter.

"Thanks. Get some sleep though. We've gotta tour your new school tomorrow. Hope you know you're wasting my Sunday, kid."

"I'm sorry about that, sir." Ren replied with guilt.

He took a good look at the teen. "Whatever. Just make sure to get up early tomorrow morning. Night."

"Have a good night, Boss."

He looked at the man walk down the stairs and then sighed. Sojiro didn't need to say it, but it was very obvious that he disliked the kid. Ren knew he couldn't blame him though. Anybody would be mad having to take care of some delinquent that could potentially hurt them or the people around him. The teen walked towards the middle of the room and placed down a sleeping bag he brought from home. He prepared to lay himself down. With a phone in hand, he unlocked it and noticed the strange app show up a second time. The strange red app with an eye logo. He rolled his eyes and quickly deleted it again. _Only 6 months I've been with his phone and it's already got a virus. I seriously just can't catch a break huh._ He sighed to himself. It was one thing after another for him. The day that changed his life for the worst. He was simply walking back home from an errand that his mother had told him to do, but it didn't go as easily as he would have hoped it would.

* * *

 _ **?/?/20XX (The Day of the Arrest)**_

I heard some woman yelling at a man. "Let go! Please, stop it!" The lady said. My eyes widened open. I tried my best to ignore it and continue on home, but her voice continued on and on, pleading for help. I turned around and quickly tried to find her, wherever she was. I saw a bald man with glasses try to force the woman to get in a car with her. The woman looked at me. "Please, help!" I could sense her desperation in those two words.

I went and tried pushing the man away from the woman, but after a light tap, he fell badly to the concrete ground. I tried to help the man up, but at this point, all his anger that he had against the woman was directed to me. His glasses were cracked on the ground and he had a pretty bad bruise on his head. "You damned brat! I'll sue!" He said angrily. Then, like if on cue, a few police officers walked towards us. "Is there something wrong here?" The officer asked.

The man gave a bad glare to the woman. "This delinquent over here had just assaulted me. The woman over here can testify for me." I almost laughed. Why would she ever help him out after what just happened. Then I looked at the woman once more. She seemed guilty, as to say sorry...

"Yes. The boy over here hurt this man here for no reason. We were just walking and the boy hit him."

I looked at her in shock after hearing that statement. "T-that wasn't what happened!" I yelled out to the officers. I looked at the woman once more, and she tried avoiding any eye contact.

The policemen pulled out their handcuffs, and grabbed ahold of me. "Alright kid, we've heard enough."

"Heard enough? What?" I said, completely confused as to what was happening. I couldn't believe this. I was getting arrested for trying to help this lady. The woman wouldn't even bother trying to save me either. She turned against the person that tried to help her out. I stared angrily at the bald man and he simply looked at me with a grin. What the hell was this? I can't do a damn thing here...

* * *

 _ **04/09/20XX**_

 _The next few weeks were a blur. The man that accused me didn't even bother showing up to court and despite that, I was still determined guilty by the court. There was so much wrong with my entire case, but apparently that's how the system worked. What's done is done. I just need to rest._ He pulled over some blankets and tried to forget about everything that's happened. He closed his eyes and quickly knocked out.

 _Darkness is all I see at first. A void constructed of just black. I slowly open my eyes and feel dizzy. I'm in... a jail cell? I try to look at what's in front of me. A blue room? There were two kids that both dressed the same with matching blue guard uniforms and an eye patch on the opposite side of each other's eye. One with braided hair on my left and another with hair buns on my right. They stared at me and stood silently. I try to look in front of me and then notice a wooden desk with a lamp, papers and a microphone on it. Strangest part was the person sitting behind the desk. An old looking man with a disturbingly large nose. He had bloodshot eyes and seemed to be balding. He smiled at me, and with only showing his teeth said, "Welcome trickster, to my Velvet room."_

* * *

 _ **04/10/20XX**_

He quickly woke up. He got up from the bed and tried thinking about what had just occurred. A really strange dream. Nothing really happened in it either, but it still made him uneasy. It all felt so real. He grabbed his phone from a stack of boxes where he had left it. 7:36 AM... He remembered he had a meeting at his new school that he had to attend. Their meeting at the school was at 9 AM and driving there could take around 15 to 40 minutes depending on how bad traffic was. He decided to ignore the weird dream. There was a school he had to get to first.

"Look's like you're up." Sojiro said as he came up the stairs. "We're leaving in 15 minutes so go get ready before I force you to take the train."

"Yes sir." Ren replied back as the man went back downstairs.

Luckily for him, there wasn't too much to do in order to get ready. His hair didn't need too much tuning since it was usually messy anyways, and he did have his uniform on already. _Why did I have the uniform on before sleeping yesterday... I have no clue._ He grabbed ahold of his phone and put it in his pocket. He then put on a pair of glasses.

Those glasses he had weren't all too important, considering that he nearly ended up forgetting about them. His parents had bought him the glasses to try and make him seem less like a delinquent. According to a study, people with glasses are said to look less intimidating or something along those lines. It may have seemed stupid, but it was a good idea. This way, he'd be able to just lay low and avoid any trouble. It was still very annoying for him, especially since the lenses were fake.

He went downstairs where Sojiro had left him a small cup of coffee. "Here. It's not much, but you'll be up and ready after drinking this stuff."

"Thank you Boss." He said. He took a small sip from the cup. The coffee was extremely bitter but for some reason, he just couldn't bring himself to hate the taste. There was a hidden layer to this that he simply couldn't figure out.

"Drink a bit quicker. We're gonna be late if you don't speed it up." Sojiro said as he began to walk towards the door.

He nodded and quickly drank the cup of coffee and dropped it with the rest of the dishes when he was finished. "I'm going to trust you to clean the dishes when we get back. Not like you have anything better to do." Sojiro said.

He nodded once more, and walked over to the car.

* * *

The two arrived at the school in about 20 minutes. From what the boy could tell, it wouldn't have been too difficult to get to the school on foot or bike, but a train would definitely get there much more quickly. 45 minutes at most with all the transfers going on probably.

"Here we are. How's it look?" Sojiro asked.

"It's a lot bigger than my old school." Ren replied as he stared in awe.

"Not too surprising. Let's go." He said as he walked towards the gate. "Just behave yourself, got that? I want to get out if here ASAP."

Ren nodded and walked on inside with the man. The size of the school was certainly impressive to him. If he had to guess, he would say it was almost three times bigger than his old school. Not only that, but this school also had an impressive track record in sports like volleyball and track. A new life in this school would be an interesting experience.

They continued on and entered the school where they were greeted by a woman with a long sleeved yellow shirt and messy hair. "Oh, you two are early." She said as she approached them from a vending machine. "Welcome to Shujin Academy. Principal Kobayakawa is expecting you in his office. Follow me please." She said happily. With the woman's tone of voice, Ren couldn't help but think she was acting a bit too fake. There were very obvious eye bags visible, and her attire was pretty messy. She seemed a bit too tired to be doing this.

They followed her to the 2nd floor. There, they went on to the principal's office and entered the room. Inside was an extremely overweight man in a yellow suit and small red tie working on some paperwork on a fancy desk. The signs were all there. He was definitely the principal. "Ah, hello there. I've been expecting you." He said as he stood up and reached out for a handshake.

Sojiro reached out his hand and shook it, and Ren next.

"Transfer students are a very rare occurance here at Shujin, so we won't take this matter very lightly." He said as he stood back down.

"I understand sir." The teen replied, trying to give a good impression.

"Right. Now, regarding your assault charge. Normally we would never accept a student with such a record, but we've decided to make an exception. Shujin's admissions faculty sees potential in your academic progress and in your rehabilitation. If any educational institution were to help you in your rehabilitation, we believe that we're the right school for you to do so."

"I see. I appreciate you and the school's kindness." The adolescent replied back with a nod.

"Yes, however there are rules that need to be addressed. In order for you to remain in this school, you must ensure that you keep up with your studies and pass all of your classes. Not only this, but if you were to get into serious trouble here, that'd be it and we'll be forced to expel you on the spot, so please do your best to behave as well as possible." The principal said with a serious expression.

"I'll do exactly that." Ren said, returning a serious expression back.

"Good." Mr. Kobayakawa said with a smile. He then turned to Sojiro. "As his guardian, it's your responsibility to make sure he stays out of trouble."

"He knows already. Any mistake here and there's nowhere else for him to go." Sojiro said bluntly.

"Good." The principal said. He turned to Ren. "Okay, just sign here and we'll have you take a tour of this school." He said as he passed him a pen. The boy looked at the papers, and it was just basic admissions paperwork. He quickly signed where he told him to do so, and then passed back the pen. "We hope to see you do your best starting tomorrow then." The principal said as he shook his hand once more.

"I will not let you down, sir."

"One last thing. Miss Kawakami will be your homeroom teacher, so meet her at the faculty office first thing in the morning." The principal said.

"Here is your student I.D. Please do your best to arrive on time." The tired teacher added on.

He nodded and took the card she gave him.

"Alright, if that's all we need, we'll be on our way." Sojiro said as he tried to leave.

"Oh, no. There's much more paperwork to get through. Ren, you're free to leave for now. Try to get accustomed here." The principal said.

"Yes sir." Ren replied back. He grabbed his bag, left the room and closed the door behind him. Sojiro didn't look all that pleased. As he left the room, he heard the teacher sigh. "Seriously though? Why did I have to be his homeroom teacher? There should've been better candidates than me."

"Your class is the only one that had an opening. That and the other teachers all personally requested to-"

He quickly walked away, pretending to not hear their conversation. He sighed and tried to look on the bright side of things. _I have one more shot at life here, so doing my very best here is something that I really had no say in. I'd also have to focus a lot more on my studies to make sure I'm not kicked out. Still, I'm glad that I have a fresh new start here. Nobody knows about my criminal record, so for everybody here, I was just gonna be the new transfer student. Yeah, there's definitely a bright side to this._

"Ah, so you're the new transfer student." A voice said to his left, interrupting his thoughts.

He looked to his left. "Yes, that's me." He replied back. There was a girl who was crossing her arms and she looked at him with a smile. She had short brown hair with a braid that went across her head and had very distinct brown eyes that seemed almost red. She was slightly shorter than him, and was also wearing the Shujin uniform from what he could tell. "Forgive me for asking, but who are you?" Ren asked.

"Oh, where are my manners? Allow me to introduce myself. My name is Makoto Niijima, Shujin Academy's student council president. It's nice to meet you."

* * *

 **A/N: Yeah, this was basically just a retelling of the intro. If it felt a bit rushed, that's because it was. I really wasn't a fan of the game's intro and Kamoshida's palace, especially after seeing it twice in-game, in the anime and reading it in some other fics, so I'm sort of sick of it at this point.**

 **Poor Ren though. Man got shit on real bad in the intro and it really only gets worse until he meets Ryuji, or in this case, maybe Makoto. It's about time the originality began so expect some more alternate takes and such.**

 **Still, it's been fun writing. Haven't written this much in a while and it feels fun as opposed to it feeling like an obligation like a year ago. Next chapter is being worked on, so give it a week tops. After that, writing should go more smoothly, considering that I've got so many ideas for after chapter 3. Til next time though, have a good one!**


	3. Slave to Society

Chapter 3

 **Slave to Society**

* * *

 _ **?/?/?**_

It was a calm and ordinary day for the group. They had recently defeated a palace owner's shadow and were successful in their attempt to steal the treasure. Waiting for a change of heart, Ann had gotten an idea and planned a double date for her, Ryuji, Makoto and Ren. The small group agreed to meet up near Shibuya's train station where Ann would show them the spot that she had chosen for their date.

Makoto walked outside of her train. Fortunately for her, getting to Shibuya wasn't necessarily too difficult, especially since the train wasn't too far from her home. She walked up the steps to the surface and was greeted to a familiar sight. The many people on the streets were all walking to many different locations, whether it was a convenience store, a fast food restaurant, the theater, or the subway itself. It fascinated her knowing that everybody out here had their own goals and aspirations that they were working for as well.

She looked at the time on her phone and noticed that she had arrived at her destination about an hour early. She sighed, realizing that her early habits had followed her once more. She decided to walk along through Shibuya in an attempt to kill time and look around for places that the group may be interested in afterwards.

"Oh, Makoto! Over here!" A familiar voice said as she was called from where the famous Hachikō dog statue was.

Makoto looked at her friend in surprise. "Ann? I didn't expect to see you so early." She said as she walked towards her. "The boys aren't here yet, right?"

"I wouldn't worry about them. Knowing Ryuji, he'll just barely make it here on time." Ann replied.

"Let's not count on that. Ren said earlier that he was going to pass by Ryuji's house, so I'm certain that he'll try his best to make sure that they both arrive early." Makoto said confidently.

"Ah, that's good. I'm glad that your early habits are rubbing off him already. It definitely beats waiting an hour for them." Ann said with a glad expression.

"My early habits? Arriving early isn't necessarily a bad thing." Makoto said, trying to justify herself.

Ann looked at the girl with a smug smile. "Makoto, who are we kidding here? If I hadn't showed up just now, you would've been stuck waiting here by yourself for another hour."

"Well, um... I mean..."

Ann took a glance at her friend. "Hmm?"

Makoto stared back and sighed. "Yes, it's become a bit tedious at this point." She said in defeat.

"Hey it's not a really bad thing at all, it's just that you kinda go overboard with your earliness. Just have to tone it down a bit." Ann said, trying to cheer up the girl.

"Right, I'll do that from now on." Makoto said, but remembered that something was off there. _Why was Ann here this early in the first place?_ "Sorry for asking, but if you knew that I was going to show up early, why did you arrive here to see me?"

"Well, I just wanted to have a talk with you. Without the boys y'know?" Ann replied back.

"A talk? About what though?" Makoto asked in confusion.

"Come on, I'll tell you as we walk."

The two walked through the streets of Shibuya as they passed by many businesses that she had visited before. There was the arcade that she adored going to, the Big Bang Burger which she wasn't too fond of, a gym which she had gone to every once in a while, and the airsoft shop which she frequented quite often. Everything was located in this one hub of the city. Not that there was any reason to complain, especially with how convenient it all was. "So, what was it you wanted to ask me?" Makoto asked.

"Alright Makoto, let me ask you a question. What do you think of Ren? I mean, he is your boyfriend." Ann asked curiously.

"You... wanted to talk about my relationship with Ren?" She asked, puzzled by what Ann had meant.

"Come on! I'm real curious about this! You two only just recently told us that you were going out, so I kind of wanted to know what you liked in him." Ann said excitedly.

"Oh, right. Sorry for not telling you and the group earlier." Makoto said guiltily. "We didn't want to tell everybody so suddenly."

"It's not really a big deal. Knowing you guys, I'm surprised you decided to tell us on THAT day of all days." She teased once more. "But spill it out already! What do you like in him?"

"Oh erm, well, I like that he's very honest and down to earth. He's very dependable, and a great leader as well. I also like his sense of justice. He doesn't have any true reason to help others in need, but he still does it for the sake of doing so. His sense of determnation is something I've admired sense I met him, and he's somebody who I can easily rely on too. He's also got a way with words, and he... has this smile that I can't describe. Whenever I'm with him, it just feels like everything is going to be alright. It's like he's there to protect me, and I'm there to protect him. I... I don't really know how to really put it into words, but it makes me feel glad." Makoto said, not realizing she had subconsciously formed a smile. "Sorry if it doesn't make too much sense."

"No, I know what you mean. But it does sound like you're a bit head over heels for him though." Ann replied with a laugh.

"Hey! I thought you'd of all people would understand." Makoto said, showing a light blush.

"I get you, I get you. No need to be angry." Ann grinned.

"Okay then, it's my turn to ask a question. What about you and Ryuji?" Makoto questioned, trying to get back at her. "What do like about him?"

Ann thought about the question, and began to answer. "Well, Ryuji is rash, impatient, rough, loud, and isn't one to think anything through..."

Makoto looked at her friend in surprise. _She did hear my question, right?_

Ann continued on. "...But after all the stuff he makes me put up with, it's just what makes him who he is. He has really good intentions, and will fight for the friends he cares about to make sure we don't get hurt. He might seem shallow at first, but he's an incredible person and I'm sure he doesn't even realize it. He would always protect me from the insults people would throw at me simply because I was different than them. I've always appreciated what he did for me, and well... I'm glad that we're together now." She said happily with a bright smile.

Makoto smiled back upon hearing the response of her friend. "I see. I'm happy for the two of you."

"That's my line." Ann responded.

"But let me say that you're a hypocrite if you think I'm the only one that's head over heels for someone." Makoto said jokingly.

"Yeah yeah, but I never said that I wasn't though." She said, still grinning. "But still, it's surprising that this Phantom Thief business brought us together. It's hard to think what would've happened to each of us if we never discovered the metaverse."

Makoto looked at a distance, thinking about Ann's statement. "It's something that I've thought about as well, but there's no point in thinking about that now. We're all friends now thanks to it, and we all know that we're going to live for our own sake, not for anybody else's."

"Exactly. No asshole in this world is going to tell us how to live our lives!" Ann exlaimed loudly.

"N-not so loud." Makoto said, slightly embarrassed. "Seems that you're taking from Ryuji's loud and vulgar language."

"Oh woops, maybe he is a bad influence after all." Ann laughed once more.

Makoto laughed with her friend. It was strange revealing her feelings towards Ren with somebody else, especially since she wasn't used to her feelings towards the boy. Regardless though, the more she thought about it, she realized that it would be even stranger not to tell her friend and to keep her feelings to herself. _After all, this is what friends are all about._

"Wait a minute, is that them over there?" Ann said, aiming her hand towards a train station.

Makoto looked at where Ann was pointing at. "Looks like I was right." Makoto said, noticing a boy with glasses and his blonde friend. "Let's go get th-"

"Hey Ryuji! Ren! Right over here!" Ann loudly called out.

The two boys looked at the two girls. They all exchanged smiles once they had noticed one another.

"Woah didn't expect to see you guys so early." Ryuji said. "Now I know what this guy meant when he told me to get ready an hour earlier." He said pointing to Ren.

"You knew?" Makoto asked.

"No, but I had a feeling your early habit would show itself again. You've done it a few times before, and well... I didn't want for you to be waiting by yourself again." Ren said, showing his girlfriend a smile.

Makoto smiled back at him. "I see. Thank you Ren."

Ann looked at the two with a familiar teasing grin.

"W-what is it?" The couple asked nervously at the same time.

"Oh it's nothing. Just don't worry about it." Ann replied.

"Well, where's this place you were talking about? You didn't exactly give us the address." Ryuji interrupted.

"Oh, it's real closeby. Now that we're all here, we may as well just get on over there. It's nothing too fancy so we don't need a reservation." Ann said, leading the group to a diner near where she and Makoto had just walked by.

"Ohhh so this is the place. Been here a few times, but man is it just hard not to come back." Ryuji said as he stared at the diner in front of him.

"Ah, I think I've gotten everything the menu offers at this point." Ren replied.

"Same here man, and it's a good thing the food's pretty cheap compared to some other spots."

"Yeah, I didnt want to pick some place too fancy especially with how badly we blew our funds last time, but I still think it's a pretty good spot." Ann said.

"Seems that I'm the only one that hasn't been here then." Makoto said, feeling left out.

"Don't worry about that. As a matter of fact, it might be better this way. You'll get to experience all of what's to offer for the first time." Ren replied back.

"I guess it is a good thing if you put it that way." The brunette said happily. "I'll be counting on you to show me the ropes then."

"It's a deal." Ren replied back.

"Alright then, let's get a move on. Haven't eaten anything since yesterday and I'm seriously starving right now." Ryuji said as he tried to be the first of the group to enter the diner.

"Should've at least eaten some breakfast." Ann said following behind him.

"It seemed like a waste of time, especially since we were coming here anyways. It's whatever though, right? Anyways, let's just get going."

"Sometimes I don't know what to do with you, Ryuji." Ann said with an annoyed expression.

Makoto looked at her group of friends and smiled. It was nice having people that she could rely on. They weren't fakes that didn't care for who she was. They were genuine friends who she could trust. It felt like she was finally somewhere where she could say she could belong. The Phantom Thieves they had formed was the group in where she felt she could finally be herself. Ren took her hand. They both stared at one another as a light blush formed on both the girl and boy. "C'mon. We don't want to keep them waiting, do we?" He said, showing her a smile.

"Right." Makoto replied back gladly.

"Let's go."

* * *

 **11/20/20XX**

Makoto's eyes slowly began to open up. She looked towards the ceiling, her room's ceiling. It was the same old room she had always slept in for the past few years. She grabbed her phone to look at the time. 10:43 PM. She sighed to herself and remembered the dream she just had. No, not a dream. It was a memory that she lived through. She had made some of the most happiest memories thanks to him and the rest of the thieves. Without them, she didn't know where she would've been, or what she would've been doing.

She got up from her bed, and slowly made her way to the living room. She walked carefully, not wanting to wake her sister up. _My sister..._ She realized that her sister wasn't in the house. Makoto's sister was out in a secluded interrogation room with Ren. She turned on the lights and stared blankly into the empty room. Loneliness... It's all she could describe how life felt right there and then. A feeling that she was familiar with, and absolutely despised.

She thought about the boy's well being once again. It was the one thing she couldn't help but think about all the time. Nobody knew what was going on at the moment. Futaba was supposed to update the group on any news regarding their leader, but so far there was nothing. Everything was going according to plan so far, but from here on out, it was all up to him. _Ren..._

There wasn't too much she could do but wait and see what happened. She thought about her life before the Thieves became a part of her life. When she followed the orders of everyone around her with no questions asked. When she believed academics was all there was for her to focus on. When she lived for the sake of other's, and not her own.

* * *

 _ **04/09/20XX**_

Makoto had finished getting herself ready to head to school. She looked at the time and saw that she had more than enough time to make some breakfast for her sister and herself. She walked quietly outside to her sister's room. She slowly peaked her head out in into her room, and saw her sleeping at a desk. Makoto sighed seeing her sister like this. She was overworking herself with her job too often. More often than not, she would skip meals to continue her work, and she would purposefully avoid sleep as well. It didn't seem healthy whatsoever. _I promise you sis, I'll let you get some rest as soon as I graduate. Just... don't over do it, please._

She headed to the kitchen, there making breakfast for the two of them. She had learned to cook at an early age due to the fact that there was almost always nobody home to give her food. This was due to an incident involving her father and his work. She shook her head thinking about it. It was something that had bothered her immensely. It was one of the main reasons as to why her sister had overworked herself so much. Makoto continued to cook the food and ignore the thoughts that had formed in her mind.

"You're up early." Sae said as she walked to the kitchen tiredly.

"Oh, good morning sis! I was just making some breakfast for the two of us." Makoto responded back.

"I see." Her sister replied. She looked at Makoto with uncertainty, but then smiled. "Well, it wouldn't hurt to eat together for once."

A smile quickly formed on the younger sister's face. "I'm almost done, so just hang on tight for a bit." She said. It had been such a long time since she and her sister were able to eat with one another. A majority of the time, Sae would not be able to stay home for too long due to her job, but it wasn't her fault. Makoto knew that it was necessary for her to do so. She was doing her best to support the two, at the cost of her health and time.

Sae looked at her sister cook. "What did you cook today anyways?"

The younger sister turned around with two plates of food ready to be eaten. "Two sunny-side up eggs with rice and curry." She said as she placed the plates at their table.

The two sisters bowed their heads to the plates. "Thank you for the food." They said at the same time.

"Sorry if you're not a fan of curry in the morning. I didn't want yesterday's food to go to waste." Makoto said.

"No, don't worry about it, if it can't be helped, so be it. I'm always a fan of your curry regardless." Her sister replied, smiling.

"Thank you sis." Makoto said with a smile.

"Anyways, how's school going for you? Doing your best I hope." Sae said, trying to initiate a conversation.

"Of course. It's been going real well. I've already gotten used to most of what we're learning already, Math is material that I already learned prepping for entrance exams so it's mainly review, English isn't all that difficult, and social studies is just basic Japanese history. I think this year I'll be able to be go from rank #4 to #1 if this keeps up."

"I see, that's good to hear. I know you can do it Makoto. With your position as student council president and your dedication, I'm certain you'll be able to have teachers give you an even higher grade." Sae said.

"I'm hoping that's what happens. At the end of the day though, my grades are my highest priority." Makoto replied in a determined tone. These numbers are what would determine if she would be able to get into a college that would allow her to become a successful person in the future. A person capable of succeeding in her sister's footsteps. "Anyways, how's work going?" She asked.

"It's difficult. The cases regarding the mental shutdowns still don't make too much sense, and the autopsy reports never indicate anything wrong with a victim's mental health before an incident even occurs." Sae replied, showing a face of uncertainty once more.

"I see. It sounds very strange." Makoto said, thinking about the case.

"It is, but it's something that you shouldn't be too invested in. Remember to only focus on yourself and not get yourself into things that don't involve you. You don't need any distractions, especially right no-" She suddenly heard her phone begin to ring. "Oh, excuse me."

She got up from her chair and began to speak into her phone. "Hello? You mean right now? How important can this be that it couldn't wait until I got there?" She continued, complaining to the person on the other line. "Alright alright. I'll be there as soon as possible. Bye."

"What did they say?" Makoto asked.

"Something came up at work again. They want me to get there as soon as I can. Sorry, but can you put the leftovers in a container for me?" Sae asked with a sigh.

"Yes sis." Makoto replied, a brief look of sadness appearing on her face.

"Makoto, I'm sorry about this. I know this happens so often that you've probably gotten used to it." Sae said guiltily.

"No it's fine. I understand why you need to do this, so don't worry about me too much." The younger sister said, forcing a smile.

Sae looked at her and thought for a bit, and then formed a weak smile. "I promise you, as soon as I get the time, we'll go on a vacation together, just you and me. I've heard there were deals on some hot springs."

"D-do you really mean it?" Makoto asked excitedly.

"Of course, my only condition is that you focus on your studies and keep your grades up." Sae said with a strict tone. "Do that and I'll have the preparations underway."

"Okay, I'll do that for sure." She replied back.

"Alright, I'll see you later tonight. Do your best, alright?" Sae said, getting ready to leave.

"I will sis." Makoto said as she gave her sister a container with food. "You be careful out there."

"Same goes for you. Bye." Sae said as she left the house.

Makoto looked at the room again. A silence crept within the house once more. A silence that she had already gotten used to. She sighed again, but knew this was the way life had to be. She focused on her studies for their family's sake. For her sister's sake. _If my grades are all it would take for my sis to take a vacation, then so be it._ She finished up eating her food, and prepared to head to Shujin Academy.

She got on the same train she had always used and headed towards Shibuya. From there, she needed to head to the surface and transfer to a different train to arrive at her school. It was how everyday of her high school life had went in the mornings.

She walked towards the surface and focused on getting to her school. The view was the same as always, with people trying to get to their destinations, but she had to focus on herself. There was no reason to get involved with people she didn't know. That was something her sister had taught her to do.

As she went downwards to catch her train, she decided to check the time and see how much time she had left before class started. 7:23AM is what the phone said. There was something off about the phone though. There was a strange looking app covering the entirety of the screen. She stared at it in confusion and tapped on it to see if it would do anything. All of a sudden, she noticed the people around her bagan to move slower and slower until eventually, everything came to a halt. She couldn't tell what was going on. She looked outwards of the station and noticed a boy stand still and stare at the Shibuya 109 building.

"H-Hello?!" The girl yelled out. There was no response, as if he wasn't able to hear her. She turned her head to the building he was staring at, and she noticed a very strange figure below the building engulfed in flames. She blinked a few times and hoped it was just some strange dream, but nothing. A sudden noise was heard at the bottom of the stairs she was at. She saw a motorcycle revving up its engine on some train tracks as it got louder and louder with each passing second. The motorcycle had a strange face at the front of it, and something about it just seemed very strange. A voice began to speak. "You are a slave... Want emancipation?"

* * *

 **A/N: We finally arrive into original territory! Chapter 2 was just a bunch of exposition and the such and there's still a little bit more of that left, but it won't end up being a 1:1 retelling and instead I'll add some originality to it. One thing that's really noticeable are the "dreams" that happen in chapter 1 and 3. It's a fun way to show what lies ahead, but also a bit hard to incorporate with ease. I'll still add a few from time to time, but not once a chapter and the such. I'll probably sprinkle them out a bit as the story progresses.**

 **Also, Ren may be the main character, but I'm not gonna neglect Makoto. There are some scenes in game where I was curious as to what the thieves were doing while Ren was gone, especially during his interrogation. As well as that, I just want to expand on her character and interactions a bit more too, so expect to see both the perspectives of Frizzy hair and Miss Prez in later chapters.**

 **Sorry for the delay though. This was originally one chapter, but it just kept on getting longer and it became too much to have as a single chapter. On the bright side, the next two chapters should be finished more easily. It will likely be another two weeks though since I need to get back to updating that other fic I sort left behind since writing this story. Anyways, I'll see ya guys next chapter then, have a good one!**


End file.
